2013 was the photography industry’s worst year

Our friends at lensvid.com just published a very interesting and important article concerning the huge drop in sales of still cameras during 2013.

As every modern SLR & mirrorless camera can currently shoot video this information concerns us too. We’re involved in the market and we surely get excited (or not) about all the new cameras, but this might often distract from the overall painful picture. A picture that can very well explain why we see so much “hesitation” from leading companies to come up with the innovations we’re all waiting for.

The information in the original article is taken from CIPA (Japan’s camera & imaging products association) and in the infographic below you can see there is even a drop in lens sales.

When we take a closer look at this slide we can also see that mirrorless cameras are absolutely not the success story the manufacturers were hoping for. The only place those cameras are popular is Japan.

As much as those facts and figures do make sense (mobile phone photography anybody?), I guess the overall picture is more complicated and there is much to be explained be it the global economy slowdown or that people are simply tired of purchasing new equipment over and over again.

Whatever the answer, it will be interesting to see the results of 2014 as companies like Sony, Panasonic, Nikon and Canon are certainly stepping up their effort in introducing new and more interesting cameras to the market.